Transit Driver Accused Of Rape

A Passenger Said An A-plus Link Van Operator Raped Her After Picking Her Up At Church.

The Driver Has Been Relieved Of Driving Duties Pending An Orange County Sheriff's Investigation.

March 19, 1996|By Christopher Quinn of The Sentinel Staff

A woman who used a van service for the disabled to go to church Sunday has accused her driver of raping her on the trip home.

The 27-year-old woman, whom Orange County deputy sheriffs described as ''emotionally challenged,'' told detectives the driver raped her on a dirt road after telling her she had sexy legs.

She was riding in a van operated by A-Plus Link, a door-to-door van service administered by the Lynx transit agency. Tom Rochon, Lynx's director of operations, said the driver has been relieved of driving duties pending an Orange County Sheriff's investigation.

Detectives made no arrests and released few details Monday.

''It's an allegation that she's made and we're looking into it,'' said deputy Carlos Espinosa, sheriff's spokesman.

The woman said A-Plus Link carried her to an Apopka church Sunday and, after services ended, carried her home. On the return trip, she said, the driver turned down a dirt road and raped her. She could not remember where the rape occurred.

She told her caretaker about the incident when she arrived home. Her caretaker notified deputies.

Rochon said the driver, whose name was not released, was hired in late January after drivers license and criminal history checks turned up nothing negative. He has no other complaints against him, Rochon said.

A-Plus Link has been controversial since Lynx switched from one contractor to six in January. The switch caused delays, and some passengers spent several hours on trips that should have taken 30 minutes.

A-Plus Link provides more than 50,000 trips a month to the disabled and disadvantaged in Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties.